Cassavetes, Beau Bridges Dr Fu Manchu, as portrayed by Swedish-born
and Walter Pidgeon) Hollywood star Warner Oland, the man who added
acquit themselves well the ‘Fu Manchu moustache’ to the face of Fu
in a disturbing tale that Manchu.
both delivers the requisite
Thanks, allegedly, to stray Mongolian genes,
tension (tracking down a
Oland was typecast in oriental roles. He is best-
sniper at a championship
remembered for his definitive performance as the
American football game
cheerful, polite, insightful detective Charlie Chan,
in Los Angeles) while
whom he played seventeen times between Charlie
managing to freight in some intelligent
Chan Carries On (1931) and Charlie Chan at Monte
commentary on the nature of violence.
Carlo (1937), but also ran to a long string of Asian
hardly surprising given that the creative team warlords, tong bosses and werewolves in the likes
here was also behind the innovative CG feature of Tell It to the Marines (1926), Chinatown Nights
Appleseed). The surround sound mix here is (1929), Shanghai Express (1932) or The WereWolf
equally impressive, and makes for a remarkable of London (1936). Proving ethnic versatility, he
fantasy adventure experience. was also the rabbi whose son (Al Jolson) briefly
disgraces his faith by becoming The Jazz Singer
Boulting Bros Collection:
(1927) in the first talking (well, singing) picture. He
Seven Days to Noon/Suspect
managed four appearances as Dr Fu Manchu (just
Roy Boulting, director/Optimum losing out to Christopher Lee as the screen’s most
While such British film makers as Alfred
prolific Fu) between the coming of sound and Boris
Hitchcock and Michael Powell are routinely
Karloff’s flamboyant turn in MGM’s The Mask of Fu
acclaimed, some talents further down the totem
Manchu (1932). Made for Paramount, purportedly
pole are yet to achieve the recognition they
Hollywood’s classiest studio, Oland’s Fu Manchus
deserve. In terms of the range of their ambition,
aren’t well-known. There are several reasons
the Boulting Brothers had an astonishing level
for this: a rights quirk kept them off television so
of success in a variety of genres. These two
they’ve been difficult to see; Oland played so many
smartly turned and highly efficient thrillers are a
similar roles that his Fu Manchu isn’t as distinctive
testament to their skills.
as the one-off Karloff portrayal; the films were made
during the years when the microphone hobbled
Hollywood’s creativity and play out as stagebound,
WARNER OLAND AS FU MANCHU
drab drawing room melodramas; and they tinker
KIM NEWMAN
so much with Rohmer - not that any films since
One of the ‘miracles’ of the modern age is that -
the silent Mystery of Dr Fu-Manchu series have
thanks to the internet and the ‘grey market’ - it’s
bothered to be faithful to the stories - that they
possible to see almost any old movie that still
don’t quite seem to be proper Fu films, especially
exists, albeit in a form that doesn’t really count as
since books published after these films were made
digitally restored. So, if you wake up tomorrow with
(Rohmer kept at it until Emperor Fu Manchu in
a pressing need to see Thirteen Women (1932) or
1959) contradict this version of the character.
Sh! The Octopus (1937), you can get hold of them
However, they deserve credit as Hollywood’s first
within the week. Recently, from a couple of online
horror series – introducing the now familiar notion
sources, I tracked down four early talkies featuring
of a continuing villain being killed off at the end
Sax Rohmer’s archetypal ‘oriental mastermind’
of each movie only to turn up alive (with suitable
Crime time 54 www.crimetime.co.uk 37
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